Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

As student expectations for convenience continue to evolve, so must college stores. Changes to the way course materials are handled and delivered have a big impact on the overall student experience with your bookstore. Recently, we sat down with the Associate Director of Kennesaw State University Bookstore Kimberly Holland to discuss the changes the store made to its course material distribution and how it benefits the students.

Located on the main campus of the University of Kansas, the KU Bookstore serves a large student population. As other stores closed and the online student population grew, KU Bookstore’s customer base ballooned. The sheer volume of people being directed to their store made it increasingly difficult to provide all students with the great service they expect. To help streamline the textbook purchasing process, the KU Bookstore made some changes to incentivize online ordering.

Learning is a student’s foremost job on campus, and education doesn’t stop the moment a student steps foot in your store. There is certainly no need to question a student’s choice of logo-wear, snack food, technology or other general merchandise. But you can help students avoid the poor decision to forgo a course material purchase.

In a perfect world, college students would be eager to discover what’s inside their required textbooks. They would know that the money they spent on course materials in your store was an investment in themselves — and in their future — with an invaluable pay-off. But this is not the case. Students often express hatred for course materials or any form of required reading. If they didn’t, the popular Best American Nonrequired Reading anthology series would have no audience, and collegiate retailers wouldn’t have to worry as much about textbook sales.

Course materials have a vital role to play in the success of a student’s education. However, making sure students have what they need when they need it is a concern. With the growing cost of education and student financial struggles, it’s important to understand their buying habits and their preferences when looking for solutions.